Fire officials: Careless smoking leads to $40K in damage from Geneva blaze

A house fire ignited by careless smoking wreaked about $40,000 worth of damage Monday morning in Geneva, according to fire officials in the western suburb.

Crews were called just before 9 a.m. to the blaze in the 2700 block of Conant Court after a resident had returned home to find smoke coming from the garage and side of the house, according to the Geneva Fire Department.

Two people who had been asleep when the fire started got outside safely by the time firefighters arrived, officials said.

The blaze spread from the garage to an unfinished part of the basement and was put out within 20 minutes, officials said. No one was hurt.

Investigators think “the careless discard of smoking materials” started the fire. Initial damage estimates to the home and its contents were valued at $40,000.